NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Napa County Sheriff's investigators are hoping to speak with additional motorists who were on Highway 29 early Sunday and who may have witnessed events connected to what authorities believe was a fatal hit-and-run.
The body of a woman was found lying in the southbound lane in the 4100 block of Highway 29 near Old Lawley Toll Road on the Napa County side of Mount St. Helena shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday, as Lake County News has reported.
Capt. Doug Pike told Lake County News that the first people on scene – who subsequently reported the incident to law enforcement – were Lake County residents on their way to work.
The woman, who had major injuries, died as she was being flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, and the Napa County Sheriff's Office subsequently began to investigate her death as a possible homicide, closing the highway for several hours for crime scene processing.
Pike said authorities have positively identified the woman – a 57-year-old Bay Area resident – but he told Lake County News late Tuesday afternoon that sheriff's officials are still trying to locate her family. Her name is being withheld pending family notification.
An autopsy of the woman was conducted on Monday afternoon, Pike said.
The cause of death, he said, “likely resulted from multiple blunt force trauma consistent with being struck by a vehicle.”
However, Pike said the final determination of her cause of death is pending the results of a toxicology report, which will take three to six weeks.
Pike said investigators would like to talk to anyone who drove through the area between 4 and 5 a.m. that day.
He said detectives are attempting to build a timeline of the events leading to the woman's death.
Anyone with information is asked to call Napa County Sheriff's Det. Chris Pacheco at 707-253-4591.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Investigators want to speak to motorists who drove through area of Highway 29 fatality
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On